East Gippsland - Round table BRIEFS ROLLINS RETIRES Gary Blackwood If there is to be a transition away from Native Forest Harvesting it has to take place over a much longer timeframe. If we are serious about growing our own timber needs here in Victoria we have to get really serious about plantation establishment, both for short term fibre for Australian Paper, 10-15 years and for the production of appearance grade and construction timber processed by Sawmills 40-60 years. In my view it is so hypocritical to shut down our Native Timber Industry and then import
Q
the product from Countries who do not replant or from areas of huge environmental significance such as the Amazon Rainforest. However the reality is if you are going to grow trees of the same quality that our Native Forests produce you will need areas of high rainfall, good soil type and climate. At present this type of land is high quality agricultural land and unlikely to be affordable/viable for growing trees. You can grow trees in short rotation for fibre from marginal farming land and this will as-
iven the State G Government’s plan to replace the native timber resource with plantation timber, how viable would plantations be given water, and feral pest issues and a potential lack of available land?
Darren Chester I fully support more investment in plantation timber but it is deceitful by the State Government to claim that the plantations can replace sustainable native timber harvesting in just 10 years. We currently harvest just four out of 10,000 trees each year on public land in Victoria, with the vast of the majority of our forests already locked up in national parks and reserves, never to be harvested. Any trees harvested are replanted on a continuous cycle which has provided timber for construction, furniture and paper manufacturing for decades. It is a strictly regulated industry and if we shut it down, the alternative is importing more wood and paper from countries www.timberbiz.com.au
with lower environmental standards. Victoria has a vast reserve of national parks with strict environmental protections. Our State’s timber industry is the most environmentally sustainable native timber harvesting industry in the world, with value adding occurring in timber manufacturing facilities in Gippsland. Timber production and recreational activities like four-wheel driving, camping and hiking can co-exist in our well managed forests. There are already a lot of concerns within the timber industry regarding the State Government’s plan for plantation timber with continued delays in establishing plantations and the loss of thousands of hectares during the bushfires.
sist fibre supply to Opal Australian Paper. However in summary a real transition must be long term 40 years minimum. There is no reason that this cannot be undertaken. We have a sustainable industry, not one species of animal has become extinct because of timber harvesting in Victoria. The product used is regrown, stores carbon and is a complete contrast to steel and cement or imported timber. Dale Harriman If there is to be a transition away from Native
Gary Blackwood As I have said the available land is the big problem. It is too expensive and has a much higher value use growing clean green food. Growing Plantation Timber and relying solely on it’s product comes with some risk. The quality can never be the same as native forest given it is grown outside it’s natural environment. Access to water could be another issue for plantation establishment, once again native forest has, by it’s very location, has access to natural rainwater of medium to high volume. Fire is always going to be an issue in a drying climate and will pose a closer risk to communities than remote
timber then it needs to be over a harvest cycle, 60-80 years, not the 9 years we have left. What we need is an allocated 10,000 hectares ready to be planted on a rotating cycle now before the transition begins, not the mess we have now with the lack of plantings and no long term goals. We need guarantees of the right to harvest ( and signage ) so that in 60 years time we aren’t left with a situation similar to those occurring now where new local residents object to THEIR trees being cut down .
never to be harvested. The remaining 6% is available for timber production and only .03% of that area is harvested each year. Dale Harriman We have already seen the lack of land being an issue and leases not being renewed to current lease holders and then magically being taken up by the government. With the so called climate emergency predicting large scale loss of water then the new plantations become totally unviable. As for the current plan to have them taken on by Investment Companies and Super Funds , no doubt with Carbon credits as the key, I see the repeat
It is a strictly regulated industry and if we shut it down, the alternative is importing more wood and paper from countries with lower environmental standards. native forest, especially located within easy access for arsonists. At the end of the day if we are serious about supplying our own timber needs for sustainable sources, the ongoing access to a small part of our Native Forest is far more responsible. Remenber 94% of our Public Native Forest Estate is currently set aside in Parks and Reserves
of previous failed programs being blueprinted ! We already see with a number of Government run forests the huge impact on local farmers and residents of Feral animals and the lack of control measures to keep them under control. Again this is a city Centric mantra taking precedence over the reality in our Forests.
Australian Forests & Timber News May 2021
AFTER nearly 44 years in the timber industry, Dave Rollins will soon wrap up his ‘gap year’ and retire from Timberlink. Dave began his career in timber in 1976 in Cumming Bros sawmill timber yard, after taking a gap year from his university studies in agricultural science. While working there, he completed a four-year cadetship in timber through RMIT. Dave was first employed by Timberlink in 1987, when he joined what was then known as Tas Softwoods. During his career with the company, Dave worked across three states, including at the Tarpeena mill in South Australia and the Bell Bay mill in Northern Tasmania.
CARBON DEAL MIDWAY Tasmania and Climate Friendly, two leading service providers in their respective fields of forestry and carbon project development, have announced a strategic alliance that combines farm forestry with carbon farming. The partnership model will provide services to local land managers in Tasmania, enabling them to become small-scale private forestry growers and to improve the productivity of otherwise marginal land. Climate Friendly and Midway will partner with these growers to facilitate both an early income from carbon farming, in addition to longer term income from sustainable forest products.
COMMENT SOUGHT PUBLIC comment is now being sought on a revised draft for the Australian Standard for Chain of Custody for Forest and Tree Based Products – AS 4707. The Australian Standard, along with the Australian Standard for Sustainable Forest Management (AS 4708) was developed by Responsible Wood and are key components of the Responsible Wood Certification Scheme (RWCS). AS / NZS 4707 underpins the endorsement of the PEFC Chain of Custody of Forest and Tree Based Products certification scheme operating in Australia. 9
